ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that challenges brought about by cyberactivism towards the party-state is relatively unthreatening because on the one hand, anti-regime dissident activism is weak and seriously contested, and on the other hand, multiple forms of state adaptation, particularly the efforts to accommodate cyberactivism, help maintain its resilience. It also argues that though digital media, particularly social media platforms like microblogs, forums, and news commentary channels, has empowered social actors in China, the nature and scale of such empowerment are worth reckoning. Intermediary actors, particularly service providers, play an important mediating role. Though netizens have access to diverse online services, cyberactivism primarily happens on social media platforms where users can communicate, coordinate, and collaborate. The chapter proposes a multi-actor, multi-dimensional framework, which reconciles existing views when evaluating the impact of cyberactivism and state adaptation. It provides a discussion on censorship and propaganda and explores how the party-state has attempted to accommodate online activism to improve its governance, thus its legitimacy.
